She laughed lightly and placed her hand gently on his arm. “I heard you wanted to come home with me. I’ll see about that.”
“I appreciate that, I truly do, Mistress Oria, but I think I’ll stay here. I’ve lived my entire life here and it’s not so bad. We’re treated better than at first. Besides, the new mistress is in need of a friend. She visits me every day and we talk. She makes sure I have plenty to eat. She’s a sweet, kind woman like you, though a bit lonely. She’d miss me if I left and I’d miss her and the others who come and talk with me.”
“I agree with you, Demelza is a sweet, kind woman,” Oria said, glad that Henry was content. “If that’s what you wish, Henry, so be it.”
“Is something wrong, Mistress Oria. You seem troubled,” Old Henry said.
There were no hiding things from Henry, which was probably why people talked with him. They also confided in him since he never repeated a word of what anyone told him.
“Something does trouble me, Henry,” Oria said. “I know my da trusted you and talked with you often, you being the oldest member of the clan and knowing him since he was a wee lad. When I discovered tongues wagging about my da, I thought you might know something about it.”
He nodded his head, his smile fading.
“You’ve heard?” she asked, saddened to see his smile disappear and worried what it might mean.
“I have and sadly I expected it.”
“You did? Why?” Oria asked.
“Because your da confessed all to me and I knew that time would not keep his secret.”
Royden took a seat in Trevor’s solar as did Parlan. He’d been here often enough through the years, though it had changed some since the last time. It was obvious a different man occupied it now and if he had time he’d inquire about the many different weapons hanging on the walls. But he wanted answers to questions that couldn’t wait.
“Did William MacGlennen betray his people and help the Beast?” Royden asked.
“That’s a question I can’t answer,” Trevor said.
“Or you refuse to answer,” Royden corrected.
“No. I believe it’s a question Wolf would prefer to answer.”
Royden leaned forward in his chair. “Wolf is the one known as the Beast?”
“He is,” Trevor confirmed.
“What an appropriate name for one referred to as the Beast,” Royden said, wondering why Trevor chose now to relieve the man’s name to him.
“Wolf takes pride in his birth name. It’s the name of an old, respected tribe and he does it proud.”
“From your prospective he may, but not from mine,” Royden said again, wondering why he divulged more information about the man that had caused so much damage and loss to his clan. “I believe it would be wiser if you told me about William MacGlennen’s connection to Wolf?”
“Why do you believe there’s a connection between the two?” Trevor questioned.
Parlan answered, “Because nothing else makes sense. William was a man of his word. He would never betray his clan. But wagging tongues always start with a grain of truth to them. What did William have that Wolf wanted?”
Chapter 27
Oria was eager yet afraid to ask Henry. She believed her da a good, honorable man and no one would persuade her otherwise. Her concern was that the lies had been allowed to go on unchecked and no amount of the truth would save her da’s good name.
“What did my da confess?” Oria asked, her heart beating wildly.
Old Henry took her hand. His aged hand didn’t hold the strength it once did, but he used what he had left to give her hand a comforting squeeze. “Your parents aren’t your true parents.”
Oria stared at Henry. Had she heard him correctly? She shook her head. “Did you say my parents aren’t my true parents?”
Old Henry bobbed his head. “I did.”
“That’s nonsense,” Oria said. Why would he make such an outlandish remark? When she saw the sadness deepen on his face, her stomach knotted.
“I promised I’d breathe not a word of what your da told me. But, like the wise man he was, he knew the time would come when you needed to know and he made me swear I would tell you all if I outlived him. Before I do, I want you to know that to your mum and da, you were their daughter and they loved you so much.”
Tears welled in Oria’s eyes and she almost stopped him from telling her the truth, but like her da had known, she also knew—she couldn’t hide from the truth.
Old Henry kept hold of her hand. “Your mum had suffered three miscarriages. The fourth time she learned she was with child, she was doing well. When she was eight months along, she started feeling ill. Your da learned of an exceptional healer at least a week’s time from here. Your da thought to bring the healer here, but her clan would not permit it, though invited your mum and da to go there. They did.” Henry got teary-eyed. “She delivered the bairn but it never drew a breath and the healer told her she’d never carry another child. They both thought it a miracle when on their return home they came upon a merchant with a bairn who was no more than a few weeks old. He told them the bairn’s mother had perished from an illness and he couldn’t tend the bairn and offered to sell the wee lass to them. He did, however, warn them that the mother had been a Norseman slave. They immediately paid the merchant and gladly took you from him. The timing was perfect. When they arrived home, your da proudly announced his wife had given birth to a beautiful, wee lass, and we all celebrated.”